FMJ.CO.UK WASTE MANAGEMENT FOCUS
MAY 2022 39
“We are seeing companies come to us
with new recycling materials and novel
packaging materials, or they are asking
us about how we collect our waste,
for example if we are using electric or
hydrogen vehicles.
“I think the big pressure they’re facing
is how are they going to reduce their
organisation’s carbon footprint in a
meaningful way. In turn, we need to be
able to demonstrate that we are playing
our part in this overall climate challenge.”
A typical example of this would be
Grundon’s own fleet of waste vehicles
which is certified CarbonNeutral®,
meaning waste collections don’t impact
on customers’ own carbon footprint.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Encouragingly, an increasing number of
FMs now say they are now required to
produce environmental reports. When the
survey was first undertaken in 2018, only
50 per cent said this was part of their role,
but for the last two years the figure has
hovered around 80 per cent.
When it comes to the most important
aspects of an FM’s role, over 45 per
cent of respondents say contribution to
environmental targets is their number
one priority, closely followed by service
delivery and return on investment.
Grundon’s Jack
Yarrow, Regional
Sales Manager, says
customers want to
work with businesses
who can help
push recycling up the waste
hierarchy and bring in new
ideas, such as, “our Paper Cup
Recycling Service, which
enables paper cups to be
100 per cent recycled at
specialist facilities.
“What we’re seeing is
customers who want to
think outside the box in ways
to increase their recycling,”
he said. “It’s about waste audits
– identifying opportunities for
segregating out new waste streams
from the general waste bins – using new
technology to recycle those materials and,
depending on the volumes created, to
potentially then o er customers rebates
in return.
“Customers are no longer content to
aim for 50 per cent recycling, they are now
looking at 70-80 per cent recycling levels
and our employee education programmes
and awareness days are a critical part of
working towards these achievements.
“We’re also working hard to make sure
they become the hands and eyes on the
ground back in the workplace. If they see
an employee putting a plastic bottle in a
general waste bin instead of recycling it,
they will pull people up because they have
seen for themselves how much better it is
for that bottle to be recycled rather than
sent to Energy from Waste.
“It’s also really important to provide the
monthly recycling statistics and reports
to senior management teams to show
where we are making a di erence, this
helps them understand the benefits, both
financially and environmentally, as it goes
to their own sustainability credentials.”
According to the survey results, an
increased number of FMs see improving
waste and recycling as both a challenge
and a headache – up from previous
years – while the number who see it as an
opportunity is dropping.
Countering this viewpoint is Ross Crook,
Environmental Services Manager at
Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock,
Essex, home to over 200 shops and
some 40+ food and beverage outlets. In
September last year Grundon took over
provision of waste management services
at Lakeside and Crook says what has been
most eye-opening is the sheer volume
of sustainability opportunities that have
opened up as a result.
“We knew previously that we wanted to
change the way we managed waste on site
but at the same time, there was always a
that these events are not just a tick box
exercise where people think they can turn
up, get a freebie and walk away again. It
really is an education programme focusing
on driving the recycling message and
helping employees to understand that
when they come to work, they cannot
abdicate responsibility for what they do
with their waste.”
Inability to engage sta is
continually seen as the
number one barrier to
successfully increasing
recycling levels, followed
by physical restrictions,
such as the lack of space
for bins, compactors and
other equipment.
Inability to engage sta is
continually seen as the number
one barrier to successfully
increasing recycling levels, followed
by physical restrictions, such as the
ENGAGEMENT CHALLENGE
For the second year in a row, lack
of senior management support/
lack of space for bins,
compactors and other
understanding of waste management
issues comes in at the number three slot.
To help demonstrate the importance of
good waste management, the Grundon
team o en invites customers to look
round its treatment facilities and Yarrow
says: “We find that when businesses come
and see our level of investment and how
technology is used to manage and treat
their waste, it makes a real di erence.
“Once they can see what happens to
their waste it really hits home and then
equipment.”